International Day of Zero Waste: one idea, one change at Maria Theresa Hospital

The International Day of Zero Waste is observed annually on 30 March to promote waste reduction, sustainable consumption and circular solutions worldwide. It offers an opportunity to highlight how a simple observation sparked safer waste management practices at Maria Theresa Hospital in Vientiane Province (Lao PDR) with the support of the Health and nutrition programme.

Sometimes, meaningful change begins with something small. For Arisa KANGNOY, senior midwife trainer adviser from the Health and nutrition programme, based at Maria Theresa Hospital, it began during a walk in her hometown of Udon Thani, Thailand. She noticed something ordinary yet powerful: waste bins clearly labelled to help the public separate plastic bottles from general waste.

That simple idea stayed with her and travelled back across the border to Maria Theresa Hospital. There, she began to see how a small improvement could transform health, safety and environmental protection inside her workplace.

Healthcare waste segregation has long been practised in clinical areas of Maria Theresa Hospital, with clear implementation plans for separating infectious waste, clinical waste and regular rubbish in line with established waste management policies. However, this system was designed for clinical settings and did not extend to the public-facing areas of the hospital.

In waiting rooms, corridors and transfer areas, patients, families and staff routinely disposed of plastic bottles and food containers alongside regular trash in the same bins. If the housekeeping team wanted to separate plastics for recycling, they had no choice but to do so manually, reaching into mixed-waste bins by hand.

Arisa saw this gap and explained that:

Indeed, the lack of regular waste separation and manual sorting of unsegregated waste put workers at immediate risk. Improperly managed plastic waste harbours pathogens, putting staff and patients at risk of infections. 

Beyond the human cost, plastic that is not cleanly separated is far less likely to be recycled and often ends up being incinerated or sent to landfill, contributing to the environmental burden that the Lao PDR, like much of the region, is working hard to address.

Arisa explained that:

What makes these containers different?

Funded through the Health and nutrition programme, the new bins were designed and installed by hospital technicians in the maternity ward, waiting area and transfer area. They are large with see-through sides to make it immediately clear what they are for. Crucially, because only plastic goes in, there is no need for any manual sorting, thereby protecting workers from the outset.

However, real change requires everyone to contribute to daily implementation, uphold consistent adherence and embrace waste segregation as a shared responsibility. Thus, building awareness is at the heart of Arisa’s approach, which means she integrates activities on waste segregation into her health education training sessions to help healthcare workers understand the link between clean habits and human and environmental health. Cleaning staff also receive regular training on the safe handling of waste and the use of personal protective equipment. As Arisa reflected, protecting the people who care for the facility is just as important as protecting the patients inside it.

Separating plastic at the source prevents recyclable materials from being unnecessarily incinerated, reduces waste volume and ensures safer conditions for everyone in the facility, while minimising the environmental impact of plastics in healthcare settings.

This measure therefore:

•    protects cleaners from hazardous exposure;
•    enables direct recycling without contamination;
•    raises awareness among all hospital staff;
•    contributes to a plastic-free Lao PDR.

This initiative is a powerful reminder that the path to a plastic-free Lao PDR and a healthier nation begins with a single, courageous act: one bin, one training session and one person choosing to lead. 

The Health and nutrition programme continues to monitor the plastic recycling initiative, assessing needs, scalability and impact, with the vision of introducing this model to other target provinces. 

A zero-waste future is not a distant ideal, but is built daily, through every act of responsible waste management, and through individuals like Arisa who are empowered, informed and committed to leaving a cleaner, healthier world behind.

The Health and nutrition programme is financed by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and jointly implemented by the Ministry of Health and LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.